Meeting of the Ambassador with Deputy Director General of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)

On October 16, 2015, the Deputy Director General of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), Dr Monique Eloit, and the Deputy Regional Representative of the OIE for Southern Africa, Dr. Moetapele Letshwenyo, visited the Ambassador, HE Mrs. Anne de la Blache.

The Gaborone office of the OIE (Sub-Regional Representation for Southern Africa -SRR SAR) was established in 2006. It aims at implementing the OIE’s mandate in the fifteen countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This OIE representation is a key platform when it comes to improving animal health in the region.

The possibility of sending a technical assistant to Gaborone’s office of the OIE was also discussed. It would help to help carry this agenda forward, as OIE specializes in such fields of vital importance for the region as swine fever, rabies and the “Peste des petits ruminants”.

The consequences of climate change in the SADC region on cattle farming and on the spread of animal diseases are also an important issue to be addressed

As Dr Eloit pointed out, the French government is duly committed to this organization and has been contributing to its development since it was created. Today, through funding and expertise, France is still one of its major members.

As the OIE’s Director general recently said: «in a world where the movements of people, animals and animal products are intensifying, the awareness of the interdependence between human health and animal health is imperative».